"From the time I was 4, tight-rope walking and becoming a ballerina were on my list of “dreams to be”. So, when the opportunity to try aerial dance came along, I was elated; after all, it seemed to combine the beauty of ballet with the thrill and balance of the high wire! Entering the studio was enchanting. Feeling the way my weight shifted as I pulled myself to standing and shaped my body against the trapeze bar and the ropes, touching the silks and climbing against the give and take of their fluidity and strength—it was love at first flight! And I haven’t doubted my love for it since.

I have struggled to learn new moves, to challenge my body and mind in flexibility, imagination, and persistence, but always with resulting growth. Aerial dance is an expression of grace, of beauty, of learning that the work to achieve the goal is sometimes as important and beautiful as the goal itself. My body and the dance in communication with the silks and trapeze can be my words when I don’t have the voice or know the words to say. It is an exercise in trust of self, others, and the world around us. We may not defy gravity or break the laws of physics in aerial dance, but we internalize the principles of each in some way that makes it feel as though we have wings, as though, for a little while we can stretch them to fly."

"I am so grateful for Chattanooga Aerials. I can't tell you how much aerials has enriched my life... and not just physically, but also emotionally. It gives me an outlet to break away from my responsibilities for a while and concentrate on MY body and MY confidence. Every time I look back to compare when I started aerials (an intro workshop where I could barely get on the trapeze bar) and where I am now just a copuple of months later (doing entire pieces in a student showcase) just... wow! When I look at some of the pictures from our showcase, I am blown away to think that my body was able to do those things! And for the first time in my life, I felt like my beautiful self was beginning to be revealed. Aerials is making me inadvertently look at myself differently than before; helping me to accept and love all parts of me.

I came to aerials as a flower bud with all of these intricate, loving, beautiful pieces of my person that I had a hard time recognizing and expressing... and aerials has just opened me up, allowing me to BLOOM!

And to top it all off, aerials has introduced me to some pretty awesome people. I love that class is basically a family full of colorful personalities and different perspectives. Everyone that I have ever talked to has said that aerials has definitely had a positive influence on their life. THANK YOU Chattanooga Aerials for giving us such a safe, healthy, happy place."